D/C: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin, Tom and Jerry…nothing!
Hello, people! I'm back! Thank you all for the nice reviews, and I'm sorry I hadn't updated any sooner, but I've been really busy with school-work; senior year can be really tough, I can tell you that again! And I also turned seventeen this month! You don't expect me to sit and write on my birthday, do you?
Ehm, anyway, ENJOY!
CHAPTER 2: Intruding on the Himuras
'Kenshin! Come on! What are you waiting for?'
Battousai stood, staring down at the thing Kaoru had climbed into with Kenji. So far, he had seen lots of strange things as she led him out of the museum. Small balls which emitted light from the ceiling, strange boxes which rested on tables and had weird symbols and figures strewn all over them, small black boxes which hung from different parts in the ceiling…but this thing was strangest by far. He raked through his mind for the name of this object.
A car; a vehicle for transporting people. So this was something they now used instead of horses and carriages…
'Kenshin! What the hell is wrong with you?' Kaoru demanded. 'Get in the car! I still have to prepare dinner, you know!'
'Right,' Battousai said. He followed the instructions in his head and grabbed the handle on the door, and pulled it outwards. The door opened, and he climbed inside onto the black-leather seat, before closing the door after him. 'Let's go.'
'When are you picking up your car from the garage, anyway?' Kaoru asked, as she stuck her key in its place.
Battousai watched her closely. My car? I have something like this? Garage? What's that? Should I be remembering a date?
He went through the man's memory again. An advantage of living in Kenshin's body, was that Battousai was able to get introduced to everything new around him without any trouble. He just had to go through Kenshin's memory, and he'll get whatever he wanted. And now he wanted to know what a garage was, and what date he was supposed to remember.
He got his answers. 'I think I'll go get it tomorrow,' he told her.
'Oh, good,' she said, and then she added hastily, 'Don't get me wrong or anything, but I'm arriving late for my job by driving you to your work every morning.'
Battousai could only nod, because he really didn't get a word out of what she was saying. He was more interested in watching her than listening to her, anyway. She was really beautiful, with her black hair that fell behind her back, and her amazing blue eyes. This Kenshin must be one handsome man to get his hands on such a woman.
Battousai looked around. He needed a mirror. His eyes fell on one outside his door. He looked into it, and his eyes widened in shock. He really couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was like having a twin. The face in the mirror…Kenshin's face…was exactly the same as the face he had when he was still alive. The same red hair, the same nose, the same violet eyes…the only thing missing was the scar.
'Kenshin?' Battousai looked away from the mirror and at Kaoru, who was watching him closely. 'Are you okay?'
Battousai smiled reassuringly at her. 'Yes, I'm fine; don't worry about me, Kaoru,' he told her.
'Are you sure?' Kaoru asked, sounding doubtful. 'You look kinda pale…are you sick?'
'Sick? No, of course I'm not sick, I'm just feeling a bit tired, that's all,' he replied.
'Whatever you say, Kenshin,' she said, finally giving up.
She finally revved the engine and pulled out of the parking space. Battousai was taken by surprise; the car was actually moving smoothly! Not at all like those carriages and wagons he used to ride in before. Kaoru pulled out onto the main road and started driving, and Battousai found that the car could move a lot faster than a horse, which greatly pleased him. Finally they invented something that could cope up with his speed.
Battousai sighed and looked back at the mirror. But…of all the people who'd come and cut themselves on his sword, a guy who looked exactly like him had to come. That was just too strange. For the first few moments, he actually thought he had become insane. And from what he gathered by going through Kenshin's mind, was that the later was fascinated with swords…and with him. Battousai was finding this a little too weird.
'Daddy?' Kenji tugged at the sleeve of his shirt; which was something else Battousai had found strange; he'd never worn something that had buttons. 'Can we have dinner outside today?'
Battousai frowned at him, not fully understanding what the kid wanted. He didn't have to bother and understand anyway, because Kaoru came to the rescue.
'No, Kenji, I already told you we're having dinner at home tonight,' she said firmly. 'You're not having dinners outside on the nights were I actually cook!'
Battousai automatically figured out that Kaoru wasn't such a good cook. But he decided to play along; Kaoru was obviously a person not to be crossed. 'Your mother's right, Kenji,' he told the boy. 'There's no need to go have dinner outside when she's cooking for us.'
Kenji stared at him like he'd gone nuts or something. 'But, dad…' he started to protest.
'No, buts, Kenji,' Battousai cut him off. 'We're having dinner at home and that's that.' He caught Kaoru looking at him out of the corner of her eye. 'What? Did I say something wrong?'
'No, I'm just surprised,' she told him.
'Surprised?' he repeated. 'Why?'
'Because you've never really said no to Kenji before,' Kaoru explained. 'He always manages to talk you into doing stuff from him; you're a real push-over.'
'Oh,' Battousai murmured.
'And I'm glad you actually want to have dinner that I've cooked,' Kaoru said, smiling. 'You usually like to prepare meals yourself.'
'Well, I'd like you to cook for me today,' Battousai said. 'Would you do that for me?'
Kaoru beamed at him. 'My pleasure,' she agreed.
She continued to drive silently for the rest of the way, and this gave Battousai the opportunity to have a look outside the window. This new world was just too fascinating to him. There were extremely tall buildings, something he'd never seen before, as all he's been used to seeing in Japan were traditional Japanese houses and some mansions. Bright, colored lights blinked at him from each direction, and there was even a pole which had three lights; red and orange and green, although the later two were dimmer than the first, at which Kaoru stopped and watched intently, which slightly confused him.
There were a lot of other cars swarming the roads, and another thing was the women. There were more obscenely-dressed women walking up and down the street than any number he'd seen at any pub. But perhaps it was common for women to dress like this nowadays, which was, of course, totally okay with him.
'We're home,' Kaoru announced, as she pulled up before their apartment building.
Battousai stepped out of the car and craned his neck as he gazed up at the tall building, which was nearly covered whole with glass. He found it amazing that they actually lived in such a building.
He nearly jumped when Kaoru linked her arm through his and leaned against him. Kenji stood by her side, hand firmly gripping her skirt. 'Shall we go now? Or are you going to stand and stare at the building for the rest of the day?' she teased him.
Battousai did something the real Kenshin would do and smiled at her. 'No, let's go,' he replied, and they walked towards the building's double-doors.
Battousai was finding it a bit difficult to be in Kenshin's shoes. Yes; he and Kenshin did have the same face, but they had completely different personalities. This Kenshin was obviously a really nice guy, something Battousai wasn't. But he was trying his best; there was no need to blow his cover from the beginning, especially since he was planning to stick to this family for the mean time.
He allowed Kaoru to lead him up to a couple of iron doors, where Kenji jumped up and pressed a button beside it. To his alarm, the door slid open of its own accord; there was simply nobody on the other side. He stepped in with Kaoru and Kenji, raking his mind for the name of this magical door. Elevator. The door closed after them, and Battousai got the feeling that they were absolutely trapped.
'Mommy, which button do I press? Which one?' Kenji asked, as he faced a board of numbered buttons on the wall.
Kaoru sighed. 'Kenji, you can't keep forgetting which floor we live on,' she said, reproachfully. 'Your daddy and I do not forget.'
Battousai disagreed silently, because at the moment, not only he couldn't remember which floor they lived on, but he couldn't also understand what Kaoru meant.
Kenji pouted. 'Can't you just tell me?' he whined.
Kaoru smiled at her son. 'It's the fifth floor, Kenji,' she said kindly.
'Thanks!' Kenji chirped, and Battousai watched him closely as he pressed a button with the number five on it.
What happened next was totally unexpected, as the Battousai felt the elevator taking them up. He was trying, and succeeding, in not gripping the walls for support. Kaoru and Kenji weren't, so it was obviously a completely normal thing…for them, but certainly not for him.
The elevator continued to rise for a few moments before it came to a halt. The door slid open on its own and they all filed out, with Battousai exceptionally glad to get out of that weird iron box. Kaoru led them over to a door and unlocked it with her key. She pushed it open and went inside, with Kenji at her heels. Battousai closely followed; curious to know what houses looked nowadays.
He was in for a shock. He had never seen anything so grand! The living room, for instance, was magnificent, with wide cream-colored seats that could seat four, and the glass table in the center, and the beautiful paintings which where hung on the wall, and the dark blue carpeting. And it was his!
He was about to go wandering into the other rooms of the house, when he caught Kenji walking up to a strange black box placed on a solitary table and pressed the button on it. It immediately came to life, and Battousai stared in shock as he saw the people moving about inside the box, talking and hugging each other.
'Kenji, sweetie, no more TV for the day, you already watched some before we went to the museum,' Kaoru said from behind Battousai. 'Shut it off, please.'
Battousai was trying his best not to stare incredulously at her. There were some strange people in a strange box in her living room, and she was treating it as a completely normal thing? What the hell was wrong with her? Instead, he searched his mind for the meaning of the word TV.
An apparatus for receiving televised programs and radio transmissions, which still didn't make any sense to him. But hey, if the brat found it normal, then he too should find it normal.
'Mommy, please! Just a bit!' Kenji pleaded.
Kaoru frowned at him for a moment. 'Okay, but you'll turn it off when I call you for dinner, okay?' she said.
'Okay,' Kenji agreed, and he flipped through the channels for a cartoon to watch. Battousai stared in wonder at the Tom and Jerry episode which was playing; he had never seen such animals before in his life.
'Kenshin,' Kaoru now addressed him, and Battousai looked at her. 'Why don't you go and rest a bit? I'll call you when dinner's ready.'
Battousai nodded. 'Yeah, okay,' he said.
Kaoru smiled and kissed him on the cheek. 'Good night,' she said softly.
Battousai touched his cheek where she kissed him, before wandering off to the remaining doors in the apartment, trying to figure out which one was the bedroom. He found it on first try, and he walked inside and shut the door behind him. He took a look around.
A wide, comfortable looking bed was placed in the middle of the room, a big oak-wood cupboard was placed in one corner, and a wooden bureau was placed in front of the bed against the wall, and in front of which squatted a small chair.
Battousai plopped down on the bed, and that was when he saw the many picture frames laying on the bureau, and got up to examine them.
There was a picture of the whole family together, laughing happily. A picture of Kenji when he was a baby. A beautiful picture of Kaoru wearing an amazing white gown and another of Kenshin wearing a black suit, and there was another on where both them stood, in her dress and in his suit, with their arms around each other. And another of Kenshin sitting on a grass plane while Kaoru had her arms around his neck from behind him…
This was one happy family. Battousai felt a twinge of guilt for intruding on such a family, but he was also feeling envious…envious of the fact that Kenshin had such an amazing family when he, Battousai, never did. But that was going to end now. All this…this family…were his now.
Not Kenshin's.
-
'No…my family is not yours…it's not yours,' Kenshin said hoarsely.
Kenshin was finally understanding what was going on. When he touched that sword, somehow someway, Battousai's spirit flowed into his body, and now Battousai was controlling it. He was taking over his wife, and kid, and life…and Kenshin didn't like this one little bit.
'Oh, it is mine,' came the harsh reply. 'You don't exist anymore, Ken, I only exist…you're gone.'
'What are you talking about?' Kenshin snapped. 'I'm not gone, I'm still here!'
'You foolish man, do you think you'll ever be regain control over your body?' Battousai sneered. 'Do you seriously think you might be able to defeat the great Battousai?'
'I will if I have to,' Kenshin hissed. 'Don't think I'm about to let you have what rightfully belongs to me that easily.'
Battousai laughed. 'You're really funny, my friend,' he said, sounding amused. 'I want you to continue cracking jokes like that, I'm started to get bored here…don't get me wrong on anything, your wife is beautiful but there's simply no spark in your life.'
'No spark?' Kenshin said, the curiosity getting the best of him.
'I just don't feel there's this great amount of passion between you and her,' Battousai drawled. 'But don't you worry; I'm going to start working on that.'
'You just keep your hands off my wife! Do you understand me?' Kenshin shouted.
'Your wife? I believe she's my wife now, considering you don't exist any more?' Battousai teased him. 'And there's nothing which will make her keep her hands of me, since she absolutely knows nothing of your non-existence…know what I mean?'
Much as he hated to admit it, Battousai's words were true. Kaoru didn't know about what was happening, and hence she won't do anything to fight it. Battousai, a complete stranger, will get to fool around his wife, and Kaoru won't even resist…and Kenshin couldn't think of anything to stop it.
'You bastard…' he hissed.
'Accepting defeat, huh?' Battousai said, snickering. 'Good for you…I always told the men I fought, why fight if you know you're losing in the end? They wouldn't listen…I'm glad you've got enough sense to listen.'
Kenshin didn't say anything. Battousai was going to be disappointed, because he, too, didn't have that much sense.
-
'Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!'
Battousai rolled over in his sleep, and pulled the pillow over his head, trying to block out the brat's voice, but his voice was far too loud to be blocked by a bag of feathers.
Kenji pulled at his arm. 'Daddy, c'mon! Mommy says dinner is ready and we should eat it before it gets too cold!' he said loudly. 'Daddy, wake up!'
Battousai tossed the pillow away and spun around on Kenji. He glared at him. 'What?' he snapped.
Kenji stopped pulling at his arm and backed away from him. 'Mommy is calling us to have din…' he said in a small voice.
'I heard you first time!' Battousai snapped at him. 'You don't have to keep repeating yourself! Have you got any idea how annoying you are?'
Once he said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say, because Kenji's big eyes filled with tears and he ran out of the room, crying.
'Chikusho,' Battousai mumbled under his breath.
He didn't mean to lose his nerve with the boy, because he knew that would make Kaoru suspicious, but he couldn't help it. He hated kids. That brat Enishi made him despise any kid to ever tread the Earth, even if the kid was incredibly talented with weapons, he'd still hate him.
But he knew he had to resolve this problem quickly before things got out of his control. He swung his legs off the bed, and got up from the soft mattress. He hurriedly made his way out of the room and tried to find where the kid and his mother were. Their voices led him to the kitchen, where he found Kaoru kneeling on the ground before Kenji, soothing him and wiping his tears away.
She got up when she saw him, and Kenji hid behind her, peering out at Battousai from her side. 'Why did you yell at your son like that?' she demanded. 'I told him to go and wake you up…if you should be yelling at anybody then it should be me…c'mon, do you feel like yelling at me too?'
Battousai sighed. 'Baby, listen…' he said, quietly. Baby? Where did that come from? 'I didn't mean to yell at the little tyke…he just woke me up when I was having a crappy nightmare, it's just his bad luck that he got the full blow of its crappiness.' Kaoru looked unconvinced. 'Kaoru, c'mon, do you really think I'd go and yell at Kenji like that?'
'Nah, guess not,' Kaoru agreed. She looked down at Kenji. 'Hear that, kiddo? You father didn't mean to yell at you like that.'
'Really?' Kenji said in a tiny voice.
Battousai bent down towards him. 'Of course not, Kenji,' he said gently. 'Daddy was just having a really bad dream, see?'
'Oh,' Kenji murmured. 'Is the dream gone now, then?'
Battousai forced a smile onto his face. 'Of course it is gone, Kenji,' he assured him. He stretched out a hand towards him. 'I'm sorry, okay?'
Kenji stepped out from behind his mother and hugged him. 'Okay!' he said brightly, and Battousai did his best to not roll his eyes.
'Alright, then,' Kaoru said, clapping her hands together. 'Now that that's settled…let's eat!'
Battousai went and settled himself at the table to which Kaoru was gesturing. A dish of some indistinguishable sort lay in the middle of the table, and this one was the dish from which Kaoru filled their plates, and then she filled her own and sat watching the other two with anticipation.
Battousai looked bemusedly at Kenji, who was stabbing the food with his fork, as if determining whether it was alive or not. Then, he looked down at his plate at the funny brownish stuff lying on it. Almost cautiously, he picked up his spoon, frowned at it for a moment; seeing as he had never seen a fork before, and jabbed it, Kenji-style, in his food.
Then he stuck whatever clung to the fork in his mouth.
It was all he could do not to spit it out. The food was sour, salty, and somehow, chilly as well. His eyes watered as he swallowed it down.
'Well…?' Kaoru asked him from across the table. Kenji, too, sat watching him.
'Erm…it's really good, Kaoru, well done,' he said, straining to make his voice sound as normal as possible.
Kaoru's expression brightened. 'Really? You really think it's good?' she demanded, while Kenji stared at him, dumb-struck.
'Absolutely,' Battousai lied. It was proving really hard to be Kenshin, because on normal conditions, he would've picked up the plate and thrown it in her face.
Kaoru beamed at him, before she scooped up some of the food in her fork and placed it firmly in her mouth. Her expression fell quickly, and she swallowed with difficulty. 'Kenshin…um, are you absolutely sure it's good?' she asked.
Battousai smirked inwardly. 'But of course I do, Kaoru!' he said earnestly. 'Why? You don't think it's bad, do you?'
'What? No! Of course not!' Kaoru said defiantly.
'Good,' Battousai said pleasantly. 'So we're all agreed, then.'
He tucked in his meal, rather unwillingly, but all the while enjoying the perplexed expression which was filling Kaoru's face.
-
Battousai rolled over in bed and groped around for the soft tenderness which was Kaoru, but there was nothing but blankets and sheets. He frowned and opened his eyes, to find that Kaoru was nowhere around in the room.
He sat up in the bed, and scratched the back of his head. Where the hell did she go? How come she left his side in bed? A smile touched his lips as his mind went over last night's events. There was no denying it now; Kaoru was one beautiful woman. Nothing actually happened last night, but the touch of Kaoru's soft skin against him was enough to send any man soaring. She had slept in his arms last night. He had wrapped his arms around her, and slept with his face buried in her silky black hair.
Of course, the real Kenshin was stuck in the back of his mind, furiously trying to regain control over his body, but in vain. Battousai wasn't going to let him take control…not now.
He rubbed his eyes. 'Kaoru?' he called out.
Kaoru popped her head in through the door. 'Oh, good, you're finally awake!' she said, slightly breathlessly. 'Come on, I forgot to set the alarm clock last night, and we're already running late.'
'Late?' he repeated blankly. Late for what, exactly?
'Yeah, we're gonna be late for work,' she said impatiently. She walked forwards towards him and pulled away the blanket. 'Now hurry up! I still have to drop Kenji off at the nursery home!'
'But…' he started.
'Kenshin, it's eight o'clock! I only have thirty minutes to drop you and Kenji and get to work!' she said heatedly. 'You really do not want to be arguing with me!'
Battousai frowned. But he couldn't possibly go to work…not without his sword. And he left his sword at that museum place. He needed to get it back.
After all, he couldn't possibly do his job without his sword, right?
-
A/N: There! Done! So, how was the second chapter? Was it good? Was it lame? Was it boring? I know Battousai was a bit OOC, but just imagine yourself in his position before you start being judgmental. Anyway, if you have any comments, I'll be ready to heat them, so don't hesitate to send your reviews!
And now, to individually thank my reviewers! (Although you mustn't count on me doing it every time)
Bleeding Plead: Thanks for the review! But, I swear, I never even heard a thing about Samurai Deeper Kyou! Must be coincidence, eh?
Galaxyangel: Well, you'll just have to read to find out, no? Thanks!
Royal blueKitsune: (smiles) Nah, I don't have a problem with Battousai. Actually, I really like him!
Vathara: I guess I answered both your questions in this chapter, didn't I? Please continue reading!
erica6060: Thanks for the review!
Valaroma: Hai! Thanks!
unicornfan: You want more? Don't worry, there's gonna be a LOT more coming!
Reignashii: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!
Sims are awsome: Thanks! Hope this chapter was equally good!
ayumi-dono: Thank you! I love putting details in my stories, I think it makes it look more realistic!
Tsubasa-chan02: Yeah, I know, Kenji's so cute, isn't he? Don't worry, I don't think Battousai will be harming him in any way; I'm not that evil!
wh00t: Thank you!
cherryblossomsx: Glad you liked it! Thank you for reviewing!
almira: Er…I think you got a bit confused. I don't mean for Kenshin to be Battousai in this story. They're totally different people here…oh, well…
The Mystic Firefly: Thank you! Yeah, I agree with you on the part where Enishi stabbed Battousai; it was sad. And about Kenshin getting too psycho…well, I really haven't decided yet.
gabyhyatt: His other half of his life? No, he isn't, that's for sure. Thanks for the review!
Snow Lepord: Thank you! And I hope, after this chapter, you'll still be looking forward to more of this story!
tkdl: Thanks for your review.
Adelaide MacGregor: Thank you so much! Your reviews always leave me happy; they're just too encouraging…and I like that!
Theblackdemoness: Glad you liked it, and thanks for the review!
are-en1: Don't worry about a thing; Battousai will start getting possessive over Kaoru sooner or later…and so will Kenshin. That makes things interesting, no? (smiles mischievously)
Shintachi: Um…where I get my ideas from? To be honest, I really don't know! Most of the time, I just get them while I'm in the bathroom…don't ask! And we find that Kenshin does look like Battousai! Tell me, was Battousai's reaction good or not?
kodoma kikilala: Thanks for the review! Glad you thought it was interesting!
skenshingumi: Really? You think this might be my best story so far? Hmm, maybe you're right…thanks, anyway!
chakitattyla2h8: Inuyasha? No, I've never written any Inuyasha story, I think you probably read my other RK story, Falling for Battousai, right? And your reviews are nice, don't worry about leaving long reviews, coz I love reading them as much as you like writing them! Thanks!
Kenshinlover: Aw, reviews such as this make me feel ecstatic! Thank you so much!
Deal-with-it: Thanks for understanding! And please continue sending those long reviews of yours, I really like 'em!
Hawk-EVB: Thank you! And now, I'd like you to continue with your story…please?
Aldailyn: Thanks! Oh, and by the way, hope your cold gets better!
Shimmering Tear: Hey, Lady One, my friend, thanks for the review! Now, for the other 27 reviews you owe me…you do know how to count, right?
aznmoonstargurl: Thanks for your review!
Blinded: Thanks for the review! Now, what I'd really like is for you to get your butt here as soon as possible!
Wait for my next chappie!
-ZEN.